Paraty, Brazil

So long Brazil

Back to Rio, and home

And so our holiday to Brazil comes to an end. We checked out the next morning, with our bags full, lifted onto our backs and ready to go. A taxi to the bus station and then a four hour Costa Verde bus into Rio, then a taxi to the airport. Wise Sam, guided by her hungry tummy, urged us to eat before going through security, and upstairs in the airport we enjoyed our final brazilian steak and chips, and I took the last chance to try a capiroska cocktail.

Paul before leaving Paraty

Through the metal detectors, and out the other side, Sam was right, there would’ve been nowhere to eat here, and we passed the hour by shopping for trinkets; a flip flop keyring, unhelpfully priced in USD. The pathetic cocktail kits were laughable.

Eventually we boarded the uncomfortable bum numbing 14 hour flight to Amsterdam, the Brazilian buses were much better. I rotted my brain with Transformers 3, as Sam discussed pesticides and herbicides with a Swedish scientist sat next to her. In Amsterdam we ran for our connection, and boarded an old Fokker jet, so old it still had ash trays in each seat. And soon we were circling London, flying past the towering Shard construction site, over the new Olympic park and down into Heathrow, ready to return to real life and the very busy week ahead.

So long Brazil

Wow, Brazil had been fantastic and fascinating. The flora and fauna sublime and plentiful, the people so friendly and interesting, the scenery simply magnificent; from the sugarloaf to the waterfalls and the mega-cities, Brazil is mind-blowing.

We want to return to see more, we didn’t have time for the Pantanal, Bonito, the Amazon or Salvador. Seeing something living in the wild, even a fleeting glance, is so thrilling we’re bound to explore more.